


Painted Faces

by Samunderthelights



Series: Wolfstar Bingo 2020 [11]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Non-Magical, M/M, Muggle London, New Romantics, Seventies, Short & Sweet, Strangers to Lovers, The Blitz Club, Wolfstar Bingo 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-16
Updated: 2020-12-16
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:20:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,327
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28106142
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Samunderthelights/pseuds/Samunderthelights
Summary: After running away from home, Remus finds himself in London without a place to stay. Luckily, Lily notices him looking a little lost, so she offers him a place to stay.
Relationships: James Potter/Lily Evans Potter, Sirius Black/Remus Lupin
Series: Wolfstar Bingo 2020 [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1981862
Comments: 4
Kudos: 30
Collections: Wolfstar Bingo 2020





	Painted Faces

**Author's Note:**

> Hi!  
> For this Wolfstar Bingo story I used the prompt '70's'. I love that whole New Wave period (yeah yeah 80's), but what really started it was The Blitz Kids / New Romantics, and the club nights at the Blitz Club. I've always adored this whole scene, so when I got the 70's as a prompt, I had to use this. So this was really just a little story (mostly) for myself. But I hope some of you will enjoy reading it as well!!  
> Xx

Remus is standing in the middle of London, a heavy suitcase in hand, already starting to regret his decision to leave home. Because where is he supposed to go? He doesn’t know anyone here, he has no money, no place to stay. Perhaps his parents had been right after all when they had said that he was too young to be making any big life decisions.

But just as he’s about to turn back to the station, a girl comes up to him, her bright red hair standing up straight, her lips painted a dark pink, matching the colour on her cheeks and her eyes.

Remus finds himself staring at her with a look of awe, the girl like a bright pop of colour on this dark, rainy day. But when she offers him a cigarette, he quickly shakes his head.

“Ran away from home?” she asks, looking down at the suitcase.

“How did you know?”

“I recognise the look.” She shrugs, as she lights up her cigarette. “I’m Lily, by the way.”

“Remus.”

“Got a place to stay?”

“Oh, ehm…”

“Like I said, I recognise the look,” the girl laughs, “That was me, just a few months ago. So if you need a place to stay…”

“Oh, that’s very kind of you…”

“Lily.”

“Lily.” Remus quickly nods, feeling his cheeks flush at this brightly-coloured girl, who makes him feel even more boring than he usually already does. “But I should probably go home.”

“It’s just around the corner.” Lily grins. “And I promise we don’t bite. Sirius might… if you ask nicely.” She adds with a wink, only making the blush on his face grow darker. “But there’s plenty of room for you.”

“I really shouldn’t…,” Remus tries, but then he sighs. “How much is the rent?”

“What rent?” Lily laughs, before grabbing his hand, and dragging him through the crowd.

* * *

“You’re squatting?” Remus asks, as they go up the stairs in the – what seems to be an – abandoned building.

“You got a problem with that?”

“Not at all,” Remus quickly says, as Lily leads him into the apartment, a young man just walking through the room, his arms full of heavy-looking garments.

“Ah, did you pick up another stray?” he asks, before dropping the garments on the couch, and giving a little wave. “I’m James.”

“He’s not like Peter. He’s different.”

“He’s not going to rob us blind?”

“Nothing left to rob, right?” Lily teases, before going up to him and kissing him. “This is Remus, he ran away from home and needs a place to stay. So I told him he could stay with us.”

“Why did you run away? Are you in trouble?”

“No!” Remus quickly says, before realising James was only teasing him. “I’m not… I don’t…”

“Welcome to the madhouse, Remus,” James laughs. “Do you know the Blitz?”

“It’s a club, isn’t it?”

“We’re going tonight. Got anything to wear?” Lily asks, and Remus looks down at his suitcase, doubting a simple pair of jeans will get him into the club. He knows all about the reputation, about how you’ll get sent away if Steve Strange doesn’t think your outfit is good enough.

“That’s a no, then?” Lily laughs. “Don’t worry, Sirius will sort you out.”

“Who’s…,” Remus begins, but before he can finish his question, Lily calls out, and just a second later, a dark-haired young man appears in the hallway.

“Sirius, Remus. Remus, Sirius. Sirius, Remus here needs an outfit for tonight. You’ll sort him out, won’t you?” Lily asks, and when the young man gives him a once over, Remus can feel himself blushing again.

“I’ve got just the thing for him.” Sirius grins. “If you’ll follow me?”

Remus follows him into his bedroom, not failing to notice the mess of clothes on the floor, the magazine cut-outs taped to the walls, most of male models, some of people like Bowie and Marc Bolan.

“You’ve never worn makeup, have you?”

“Huh?” Remus asks, looking up from the cut-outs on the wall. “No. Why?”

“Did they tell you about the Blitz, or…”

“I know it,” Remus quickly says, having seen the photos in the magazines. “I just didn’t think… you know… I would ever go there.”

“Why? Not your scene?” Sirius asks, as he zips open a make-up bag, before taking out a few things and setting them down on the mattress. “Or are you scared Steve Strange won’t let you in?”

“He definitely won’t. Look at me,” Remus chuckles uncomfortably, but when Sirius takes his hand, before pulling him down on the mattress, he quickly keeps quiet. “I’m not sure if…”

“Shush,” Sirius laughs. “Trust me, okay? When you see yourself when I’m done with you, you will hardly recognise yourself.”

“That’s what I’m nervous about,” Remus laughs, but when Sirius tells him to close his eyes, he does as he is told. He can feel Sirius smearing and painting things onto his face, and by the time he’s done, he half-expects to find a clown looking back at him in the mirror. But when he opens his eyes, he finds his face painted white, thick eyeliner around his eyes, pops of green on his eyes and lips.

He hardly recognises himself, and yet when he sees himself like this, like one of the people he had seen in the magazines, he can’t stop the smile from forming on his face.

“What do you think?”

“It’s not me.”

“It is,” Sirius laughs. “Just wait until you’re wearing the outfit,” he adds, before leaning in and pressing a quick kiss to his lips. But although it takes Remus by surprise, he knows that it’s nothing sexual, instead a friendly gesture. Something that makes his heart skip a beat, because he isn’t used to this kind of physical intimacy. To have someone touching his face like that, to have someone kissing him.

* * *

“What do you think?” Sirius asks, as he and Remus step back into the living room. Sirius has painted his own face too by now, and his outfit can only be described as that of Dracula on acid. Remus’ outfit is simpler than that though, not that he’s complaining. He definitely still feels very out of place in his frilly blouse and leather trousers, a whole can of hairspray in his hair to make it stick up.

“Oh, wow, look at you!” Lily grins. “I told you he was one of us, didn’t I?” she adds, nudging her boyfriend in the arm.

“Yeah yeah, you’ve got a nose for it.” James rolls his eyes, before pulling her into his arms.

Remus takes a deep breath, getting more than just a little nervous now. Because just this morning he had left home, and he still isn’t quite sure how he ended up here, looking like this. Wouldn’t it have been better if he had stayed home, listened to his parents?

“What happened?” Sirius asks, as though he can read his mind. “Why did you run away?”

“A stupid argument.”

“About?”

“My parents treating me like a child,” Remus sighs, but when he sees the small smile forming on the other man’s face, he raises an eyebrow. “What?”

“We all ended up here because of our parents.”

“I told you,” Lily says. “One of us.”

“You said that about Peter too. The little prick…,” James begins, but when his friends glare at him, he keeps quiet. “Fine. I’m sure Remus here is different.”

“I’m not planning on stealing your…,” Remus begins, but then he makes a point to look around the mostly empty room, and Sirius can’t help but laugh.

“Understood,” James laughs, before coming up to him and patting him on the shoulder in an apologetic gesture. “We should go now, or we’ll be late.”

“Oh, please, it’s only…”

“After the shit you pulled last time, we’re lucky if Steve lets us in at all,” Lily cuts Sirius off.

“What did you do?”

“Hooked up with Steve’s boyfriend,” James laughs, as the four of them go down the stairs. “So if we don’t get in tonight, you know who you have to thank for that.”

“The guy wasn’t interested in Steve.” Sirius shrugs. “Besides, when has Steve ever sent us away, huh?”

* * *

Remus’ heart had nearly beat out of his chest as they had stood waiting in line, and when Steve had looked him up and down, he was sure that he would be sent home. But they had been let into the club, and ever since they had entered, Remus hasn’t been able to stop looking around him. Just seeing the people in the club, all dressed the same as his new friends, dancing like they don’t have a care in the world, it makes him feel a kind of freedom he wasn’t even aware of.

“I was the same when I came here for the first time,” Sirius laughs. “It’s a lot to take in, right?”

Remus nods, scared that if he speaks he might cry. He feels so overwhelmed, so free, so whole, that he doesn’t even know how to explain it to Sirius. But when he blinks his tears away, and he looks back up at him, he finds a knowing smile on his face.

“Want to dance?” Sirius asks, but he already puts his hand on Remus’ back, and Remus lets himself be led out onto the dancefloor.

The music is loud, and he can feel it in every fibre of his being, the crowd around him all moving in unison, as he begins to move with them, for a moment not worried about what he looks like, what people might think. For a moment he can let go and just be.

But when the song end, he snaps out of it, chuckling self-consciously, and he almost apologises to Sirius for letting go like that. But before he even gets a chance to get a word out, Sirius has grabbed him by the neck to pull him in for a kiss. Where the kiss earlier that night had been friendly, this is definitely more than that. This kiss feels like it’s begging for more, something that Remus knows he can’t give. So he pulls away, an apologetic smile on his face.

“Sorry,” Sirius says, as he fixes the paint on Remus’ lips. “I shouldn’t have done that.”

“No, I… I’ve never…”

“Let’s dance, eh?” Sirius smiles, making Remus feel reassured that he hasn’t just messed up what could potentially – and hopefully – be the beginning of a real friendship. Perhaps even more.

* * *

“How was your first time at the Blitz?” Lily asks, the paint by now half melted off her face, as they make their way up to the apartment. “It’s good, right?”

“It was…,” Remus tries, but he can’t find the words, the adrenaline still rushing through his veins when he thinks of all the people he had seen tonight. People like him.

“I think he liked it,” James laughs. “You’ll show him his room, right?”

“I will.” Sirius nods, James and Lily quickly disappearing into their bedroom. “You can stay with me tonight, if you’d like.”

“Oh, I… I don’t really want to ehm…,” Remus mumbles, a blush from ear to ear.

“To sleep, Remus,” Sirius reassures him, “I’d love to talk some more to you. Get to know you.”

“Just to talk, then.” Remus smiles, before following him to his bedroom, where they take off their paint and outfits, before getting onto the mattress.

“So what did you really think?”

“It was overwhelming,” Remus whispers, an embarrassed smile on his face. “I’m not used to… well, any of that.”

“Kissing boys in nightclubs?” Sirius teases, before ever so softly running a finger over his arm. “Was it wrong to kiss you? Was I out of order?”

“No.” Remus smiles. “I’m just… you know… I’ve never done any of that before.”

“What happened with your parents?”

“You’ve already asked me that.”

“Did you really have to run away?” Sirius asks, his hand lingering on Remus’ arm.

Remus shrugs, but when Sirius nods, he can’t help but smile.

“Don’t listen to Lily. You’re not like us. Not like that, anyway. You should give them a call in the morning, talk about it, whatever it is that was said.”

“I don’t want to leave,” Remus whispers. “I want to stay in London, here with you and your friends.”

“Then stay.” Sirius shrugs. “But talk to your parents. Tell them where you are.”

“I will.” Remus nods, before glancing down to Sirius’ hand on his arm. “Can I kiss you?”

“Please.”

* * *

“Where’s he going?” Lily asks, when Remus leaves the apartment the next morning. “He didn’t just leave without saying goodbye, did he?”

“No, he just needs to make a call.” Sirius smiles, as he joins his friends on the couch. “He’s a good guy, Lil.”

“You like him, don’t you?” She smiles. “I never thought we’d see the day.”

“What do you mean?” Sirius laughs self-consciously.

“That we’d meet a boy who could steal your heart.” Lily grins.

“And not just for one night either.” James adds, quickly avoiding Sirius’ foot. “Just kidding, mate, I’m happy for you.”

When Remus comes back into the room, he finds the friends on the couch, laughing together, and it almost makes him a little nervous to join them. But when Sirius sees him, he makes room for him, and as soon as Remus has sat down, he wraps an arm around his shoulder, and he pulls him against his chest.

“Did you talk to them?” he asks, but Remus just mumbles. “What did they say?”

“They let me stay.” Remus smiles into his chest. “As long as I call them once a week.”

Sirius presses a kiss into his hair, the happy smile on his face not going unnoticed by his friends. And as his friends start talking about their plans for the day, Remus makes himself comfortable in his arms, finally feeling like he has come home.

**Author's Note:**

> https://samunderthelights.tumblr.com/


End file.
